XVI. But
Korach bar Tizhar bar Kehath, bar Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of
Eliab, and On bar Peleth, of the Beni‑Reuben, took his robe which was all
of hyacinth, and rose up boldly, and in the face of Mosheh appointed a (different)
observance in the matter of the hyacinth. [JERUSALEM. And Korach took counsel,
and made division.] Mosheh had said, I have heard from the mouth of the Holy
One, whose Name be Blessed, that the fringes are to be of white, with one filament
of hyacinth; O but Korach and his companions made garments with their fringes
altogether of hyacinth, which the Lord had not commanded; and two hundred and
fifty men of the sons of Israel, who had been made leaders of the congregation
at the time when the journeys and encampments were appointed, by expression of
their names, supported him. And they gathered together against Mosheh and
Aharon, and said to them: Let the authority you have (hitherto had) suffice
you, for all the congregation are holy, and the Lord's Shekinah dwelleth among
them; and why should you be magnified over the church of the Lord?

And
Mosheh heard, as if every one of them was jealous of his wife, and would have
them drink of the trial‑water on account of Mosheh; and he fell on his face
for shame. And he spake with Korach and all the company who supported him,
saying: In the morning the Lord will make known him whom He hath approved, and
hath consecrated to approach unto His service, and who it hath pleased Him
should come nigh in ministering, unto Him. Do this: Let Korach and all the
company of his helpers take censers, put fire in them, and lay incense upon
them before the Lord, to‑morrow; and the man whom the Lord shall make
known, he it is who is consecrated. Let it suffice to you, sons of Levi.

And Mosheh
said to Korach and his kindred: Hear now, ye sons of Levi: Is it too little For
you that the God of Israel hath set you apart from the congregation of Israel
to draw near to do His service to fulfil the ministry of the Lord's tabernacle,
and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? But so hath he
brought nigh thee and all the sons of Levi with thee and now do ye demand the
high‑priesthood also? Therefore art thou and all the company of thy
helpers gathered together against the Word of the Lord: and Aharon, what is he,
that you murmur against him?

And Mosheh sent men to summon Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, to the
house of the great judgment; but they said, We will not come up. Is it a little
thing, that thou hast brought us from Mizraim, a land that produceth milk and
honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that ruling thou mayest domineer over us?
Neither hast thou brought us into the land producing milk and honey to give us
an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Wilt thou blind the eyes of the men of
that land, that thou mayest overcome them? We shall not go up thither. And
Mosheh was very wroth, and said before the Lord: I beseech thee, look not upon
their offering, the portion of their hands; for not an ass have I taken from
one of them, nor to any of them done an injury, [JERUSALEM. And it was very
grievous to Mosheh, and he said before the Lord: Regard not the portion of
their hands; for not an ass have I taken from one of them, nor to one of them
done wrong.]

And Mosheh
said to Korach, Thou, and all the com­pany of thy helpers, come together to
the house of judgment before the Lord to‑morrow, thou, they, and Aharon.
And take every one his censer, and put incense upon them; and let each offer
his censer before the Lord, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and
Aharon, each man his censer. And they took every one his censer, and put fire
in them and sweet incense with it, and stood at the door of the tabernacle of
ordinance on one side; but Mosheh and Aharon on the other side. And Korach
gathered to them the whole congregation at the door of the tabernacle. Andhe had brought forth, from his riches, two treasures
which he had found among the treasures of Joseph filled with silver and gold,
and sought with them to drive the riches of Mosheh and Aharon out of the world;
but the glory of the Lord revealed itself to all the congregation.

And the Lord
spake with Mosheh and Aharon, saying: Separate yourselves from among this
congregation, that I may destroy them quickly. But they bowed down upon their
faces in prayer, and said: El Eloha, who hast put the spirit of life in the
bodies of the children of men, and from whom is given the spirit of all flesh,‑if
one man hath sinned, wilt Thou be angry with all the congregation [JERUSALEM.
And they bowed on their faces, and said: O God, who rulest over the spirit of
all flesh,‑if one man hath sinned, wilt Thou be wroth against all the
people:] And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: I have accepted thy prayer for
the congregation. Now speak thou with them, saying: Remove away from the tents
of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram.

And Mosheh
arose, and went to remonstrate with Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel
followed. And he said to the congregation, Remove now away from the tents of
these men of sin, who have been worthy of death from (the days of) their youth
in Mizraim, for they betrayed my secret when I slew the Mizraite; they provoked
the Lord at the sea; at Alush they profaned the Sabbath, and now are they
gathered together against the Word of the Lord; and therefore is it fit that
their wealth should be scattered abroad and destroyed. Touch not, then,
anything that is theirs, nor be smitten on account of their sins. And they went
apart from the tents of Korach, Dathan, and Abiram round about. But Dathan and
Abiram came out, with reviling words, and arose and provoked Mosheh at the door
of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

And Mosheh
said, By this you shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works,
and that (I do them) not from the thoughts of my heart. If these men die after
the manner of dying in which all men die, and the (common) account of all men
be accounted upon them, the Lord hath not sent me. [JERUSALEM. For not with my
own heart have I devised them. If these die by the death with which the sons of
men die, and the account of all men be accounted upon them, the Lord hath not
sent me.] But if a death which hath not been created since the days of the
world be now created for them, and if a mouth for the earth, which hath not
been made from the beginning, be created now, and the earth open her mouth and
swallow them and all they have, and they go down alive into Sheul, you will
understand that these men have provoked the Lord to anger.

And
it came to pass, when he had finished speaking these words, the earth beneath
them clave asunder; and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and
the men of their houses, and all the men who adhered to Korach, and all their
substance. And they went down with all that they had alive into Sheul; and the
earth closed upon them, and they perished from the midst of the congregation.
And all Israel who were round about them fled from the terror of their voice,
as they cried and said, Righteous is the Lord, and His judgment is truth, and
the words of His servant Mosheh are truth; but we are wicked who have rebelled
against him: and the children of Israel fled when they heard; for they said,
Lest the earth swallow us up. And a fire came out in wrath from before the
Lord, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men who offered the incense.

And the Lord
spake with Mosheh, saying: Bid Elazar bar Aharon the priest to take away the
censers from among the burnings, and scatter the fire hither and thither; for
the censers of these guilty men who have been punished by the destruction of
their lives are consecrated; and make of them broad plates for the covering of
the altar, because they bare them before the Lord, therefore they are
consecrate; and they shall be for a sign to the children of Israel. [JERUSALEM.
For a sign.] And Elazar the priest took the brasen censers which they who had
been burned had carried, and beat them out for a covering for the body of the
altar, as they had before used them for the service of the altar: for a
memorial to the sons of Israel, that no common man, who is not of the sons of
Aharon, may offer incense before the Lord; and that no man should behave
himself factiously to obtain the priesthood, as did Korach and the company of
his helpers; and whose end would be to perish, not (indeed) with a death like
that of Korach and his company, by being burned by fire, and being swallowed up
by the earth, but punished with leprosy:[1] as when the Lord said
to Mosheh, Put thy hand into thy bosom, and his hand was stricken with leprosy;
so would it be with him.

But on the
following day the whole congregation murmured against Mosheh and Aharon,
saying: You have been the occasion of the judgment of death against the people
of the Lord. And it was, that when the congregation had gathered against Mosheh
and Aharon to kill them, they looked towards the Tabernacle of Ordinance, and,
behold, the Cloud of the Glory of the Shekinah covered it, and the Glory of the
Lord was revealed there. And Mosheh and Aharon went from the congregation to
the door of the tabernacle.

And the Lord
spake with Mosheh, saying: Separate from the midst of this congregation, and I
will consume them at once. But they bowed themselves on their faces in prayer.
[JERUSALEM. Separate from the people of this congregation, and I will destroy
them in a brief moment. But they bowed down on their faces in prayer.]

And Mosheh
said to Aharon, Take the censer, put fire in it from the altar, and sweet
incense on the fire; bear it quickly into the congregation, and make atone­ment
for them: for a destruction like that which con­sumed them in Horeb, whose
name is Burning, hath begun by commandment to kill, from the presence of the Lord.
And Aharon took, as Mosheh had said, and ran into the midst of the
congregation, and, behold the destructive burning had begun to destroy the
people: but he put on incense, and made atonement for the people. And Aharon stood
in the midst, between the dead and the living with the censer, and interceded
in prayer; and the plague was restrained. But the number who had died by the
plague was fourteeen thousand and seven hundred, beside those who had died in
the schism of Korach. And Aharon returned to Mosheh at the door of the
tabernacle; and the plague was stayed.

XVII.
And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, and take
of them severally a rod, according to the house of their fathers; twelve rods;
and upon each rod thou shalt inscribe its (tribe) name. But on the rod of Levi
thou shalt write the name of Aharon: for there is but one rod foreach head of their father's house. And thou shalt
lay them up in the tabernacle before the testimony, where My Word is appointed
to meet you. And the man whose rod germinateth shall be he whom I approve to
minister before Me; and I will make the murmurings of the sons of Israel with
which they have murmured against you to cease from Me.

Mosheh spake,
therefore, with the sons of Israel, and the chiefs of them gave him severally
their rods, according to the house of their fathers, twelve rods; and Aharon's
rod was among theirs. And Mosheh laid up the rods before the Lord in the
tabernacle of ordinance. And it came to pass, the day after, when Mosheh went
into the tabernacle of the testimony, that, behold, the rod of Aharon had
germinated; it had shot forth branches, blossomed with flowers, and, in the
same night, produced and ripened almonds. [JERUSALEM. And the day following
Mosheh went into the tabernacle of testimony, and, behold, the rod of Aharon,
of his house of Levi, had germinated, put forth buds, bloomed with flowers, and
ripened almonds, the fruit of the almond.]

And
Mosheh brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the sons of Israel,
who recognised and took severally their rods. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Take
back the rod of Aharon, before the testimony, to be kept for a sign for the
rebellious children, that their murmurings may cease from before Me, lest they
die. And Mosheh did so; as the Lord commanded so did he.

And the sons of Israel spake with Mosheh, saying: Behold, some of us have been

consumed
with the flaming fire; some of us have been swallowed up by the earth, and have
perished! Behold, we are accounted as if all of us are to be destroyed. Any one
who approaches the tabernacle must die: are we not doomed to destruction?
[JERUSALEM. And the sons of Israel spake, saying: Behold, we are consumed, and
are all of us as if destroyed. Some of us have died of the plague, and some of
us the earth, opening her mouth, hath swallowed up.]

XVIII. And the
Lord said unto Aharon, Thou, and thy sons, and the house of thy fathers with
thee, shall bear the iniquity of the consecrated things, when you nave not been
heedful in offering them; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the
iniquity of your priesthood, when you have not been heedful of their separations.
And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, who are called by the name of Amram
thy father, shalt thou bring near to thee, that they may consociate with and minister
to thee. But thou, and thy sons with thee, (only) shall stand before the
tabernacle of the testimony And they shall keep thy charge, and have charge of
all the tabernacle; yet to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar they
are not to come near, lest both they and you die. And they shall have
appointment from thee without, and keep charge of the tabernacle of ordinance
for all its service; and a stranger shall not come near you. And you shall keep
the charge of the sanctuary and of the altar, that there may be no more the
wrath that hath been upon the children of Israel. And, behold, I have taken
your brethren the Levites from among the sons of Israel; to you they are given,
a gift before the Lord, to perform the work of the tabernacle of ordinance. But
thou, and thy sons with thee, shall keep the charge of your priesthood in all
things that pertain to the altar, and (those) within the veil, and shall
minister by lots, according to the service. So, provision of food have I given
you, on account of the anointing of your priesthood; and the stranger who
cometh near shall die.

And the Lord said
to Aharon, And I have been pleased to give you the charge of My separated
offerings; the cakes of the firstfruits, and all the consecrated things of the
children of Israel, to thee have I given them, on account of the anointing, and
to thy sons, by an everlasting statute. They shall be to thee most sacred;
whatsoever remaineth of the sheep offered by fire, all their oblations, of all their
minchas, of all their sin offerings, and of all their trespass offerings which
they present before Me, they are most sacred for thee and for thy sons. Thou
mayest eat it in the sanctuary; every male may eat thereof; on account of the
holy anointing it shall be thine. And this is what I have set apart to thee of
their separated minchas, and of all the uplifted things of the sons of Israel,
to thee have I given them, and to thy sons and thy daughters with thee by an
everlasting statute. Whoever is clean in thy house may eat of it. All the best
of the olive oil, of the grape wine, and of the wheat of their firstfruits
which they present before the Lord, I have given unto thee. [JERUSALEM. All the
best of the wheat, of the wine, and of the oil of their firstfruits.] The
firsts of all the trees of their ground which they present before the Lord
shall be thine; every one who is clean in thy house may eat them. Every devoted
thin, in Israel shall be thine. Whatever openeth the womb, of all flesh among
animals which they offer before the Lord, as the regulation concerning men, so
the regulation concerning cattle, it is to be thine: only thou art to redeem
the firstborn of man by the five shekels, and the firstlings of the unclean
animal thou shalt redeem with lambs. And the redemption of a man child of a
month old thou shalt make, according to thy estimation of him, by five shekels
of silver in the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty meahs. But the
firstlings of oxen, of sheep, or of goats thou mayest not redeem, for they are
sacred; but thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and burn their fat
for an oblation to be accepted before, the Lord. And their flesh shall be
thine, for food; as the breast of the elevation, and as the right shoulder, it
shall be thine. Every thing set apart of the sacred things which the sons of
Israel consecrate to the Lord have I given to thee, to thy sons and thy
daughters with thee, by a perpetual statute not to be abolished; as the salt
which seasoneth the flesh of the oblation, because it is an everlasting statute
before the Lord, so shall it be for thee and for thy children.

And
the Lord said to Aharon, Thou wilt not receive a possession in their land as
the rest of the tribes, nor wilt thou have a portion among them: I am thy
Portion and thy Inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel. And,
behold, I have given to the sons of Levi all the tenths in Israel for a
possession, on account of their service with which they serve in the work of
the tabernacle of ordinance. And the sons of Israel shall no more come near the
tabernacle to incur the sin unto death; but the Levites shall minister in the
work of the tabernacle, and shall bear their sin if they be not diligent in
their work. It is an everlasting statute for your generations; but among the
sons of Israel they shall have no possession. Therefore the tenths of the
children of Israel, which they set apart for a separation before the Lord, have
I given to the Levites for a possession, because I have said to them that among
the sons of Israel they shall possess no inheritance.

And the Lord
spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak to the Levites, and bid them take from the
sons of Israel the tenth which I have given them for their possession; and
(then) shall you separate from it a separation before the Lord, a tenth from
the tenth; and your separation shall be reckoned to you as the corn from the
threshing floor, and as the wine from the fulness of the winepress: so shall
you set apart your separation before the Lord from all your tenths, which you
may receive from the sons of Israel, and give thereof a separation before the
Lord unto Aharon the priest. Of all your gifts you shall set apart a separation
before the Lord, of all the finest and the best therein. And say thou to the
priests, When you have set apart the finest and the best of it and in it, then
shall it be reckoned to the Levites as the setting apart of corn from the
threshing‑floor, and of wine from the wine‑press. And you may eat
it, you, the priests, in any place, you and the men of your house; for it is
your remuneration for your service in the tabernacle of ordinance. And you
shall not contract guilt by it, at what time you set apart the finest and best
of it, by any one eating of it who is unclean; neither shall you profane the
consecrated things of the children of Israel, lest you die.